Hi Michael,
This is one of those things that is so very hard to keep certain aspects straight in our minds, I certainly have to keep studying the basic on these things. It seems our carnal minds just drift off in the wrong direction, if we do not keep ourselves well in tune with this truth.
We do not have a will free, nor is there even a 'limited' free will... which seems to be what you are indicating? Cause and effect is the reason we make every single decision, to even the less and most minute detail, and that cause always goes back to God, because He is totally sovereign. But it is OUR own decision, or so it seems in our mind, so we carry out the action, words or thoughts whatever reason that we do, that's why we are accountable.
Here are a few places Ray spoke on this.
http://bible-truths.com/lake2.html ------------------------
Of course all theologians are quick to point out that man does not possess total free will. Man's will is obviously limited we are told. Oh really? So it is "limited free will" that Satan and all humans possess, is it? Does no one ever bother to question the contradictions of Christian doctrine?
"Iimited, a. restricted," Webster’s Twentieth Century Dictionary, page 963.
"free, a, without restriction," Webster’s Twentieth Century dictionary page, page 682.
Does everyone know the meaning of the word "contradiction?" Only Satan could convince otherwise intelligent people that they have a "limited" -- restricted, "free" -- without restriction "will." For sure man has a will; however, it is anything but FREE!
"For it is GOD which works in you both to WILL and to DO of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).
"To will" requires a "work" of GOD! We all choose as we choose because there are things and forces and situations by the millions beyond anyone’s control that CAUSE US TO CHOOSE AS WE DO! It matters not that you cannot see or feel the cause. It is there and it does its work on you. And when causes make you choose, then that particular choice could not have ever been otherwise. God is the great CAUSE of all there is. I know Christians by the hundreds of millions deny it and deny God's Word that teaches it. That unbelief and lack of faith, however, does not change the facts of God’s Word or the laws of physics.
http://www.forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,2354.0.html ------
Dear Whirlwind:
You are not understanding this subject and the principle behind it. You ask: "Is it man making the choices or is it God's predestination of things?" It is BOTH. Listen: God is SOVEREIGN! Man therefore has NO FREE WILL OR NO FREE CHOICE. That's it. That's all there is to it. That IS the principle. That IS the Truth. That IS what the Bible teaches. It is not a contradiction to say that "Man makes his own choices." You and millions of other just think it is a contradiction to say man makes his own choices if indeed God is sovereign and God is behind all in His creation. It is not a contradiction. It only sounds like a contradiction for those who do not believe that "God is Sovereign, and Man has no free will."
I hardly know what else to tell you. God made man's heart. Man did not make his own heart, or his body, or his mind, or his brain, or his will, or his hopes and dreams. They are all PREDESTINATED by the foreknowledge of God. So then we don't make choices, right? NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO....WE DO MAKE CHOICES. It's just that they are CAUSED by things we can't always see. Sometimes we can see what makes our choices and some times we can't, but either way THEY ARE CAUSED. And God, not us, already knows in advance the outcome of all of those caused choices. How does He do that? He is very smart (has over a 150 IQ), plus HE IS SOVEREIGN, ALL WISE, AND ALL POWERFUL.....and don't forget LOVE.
So, does God FORCE EVIL MEN TO RAPE LITTLE GIRLS? Well, does He? Does God being Sovereign prove that God forces evil men to rape little girls? That's what evil theologians deduce from the truth of no free will. They turn the Sovereignty of God into one of the biggest evils in the universe. If God is Sovereign, then God must be EVIL, because there is so much evil in the world, and God is in control of all things, right? Wrong, wrong, wrong! Man makes all his own choices. Just because they are CAUSED does not mean that he does not make them. He is, in fact, CAUSED TO MAKE HIS CHOICES. But God does not directly do this. He is responsible, but He does not directly cause those choices. Things like the Devil do such things. And who created the Devil? That's right, that One Who is Sovereign and in charge of all things. Evil men like raping just like evil theologians like stealing widow's social security money. God doesn't make them do it--THEY LIKE TO DO IT. They volunteer with little outside influence. God made humanity this way. He created them spiritually weak. Eve couldn't help but sin. God has a good purpose and God will straighten it all out in the end.
http://www.forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,2368.0.html ---------
Yes, God has determined our choices and He has determine the outcome of everything. That is how He knows all will be well with all.
You do have choices and you do make your choices. You have a choice between apple pie for dessert or cherry pie for dessert. It is YOUR CHOICE. You can and will choose the one that YOU PREFER. God does not force or make you choose the cherry when you really want the apple. Have you EVER had such a thing happen to you? Of course not. Well, then, you DO make your own choices and you choose what YOU prefer. This is not as hard as we make it. But of course you cannot choose the apple if God has predetermined that you will choose the cherry. But that's okay, because you will not WANT the apple if God has predetermined that you must choose the cherry.
v
There could be hundreds of reasons: God may want the the apple industry to decline or increase for purposes of forcing new industry in a particular area of the country. He might use weather patterns to effect the production of one over the other, thus making one or the other many times more expensive, thus causing a decline in purchasing cherry pies or apple pies, which would then effect other crops in a particular part of a country or nation, which would effect that area's economy, for purposes of causes unemployment or more employment (as the case may be according to His intentions), which could then effect the economy of a whole nation which would have a direct cause and effect relationship between other nations, and the ENTIRE WORLD, etc.
v
It will change you life, once you come to believe these truths to the depth of your being. I exaggerate not when I say that I have meditated hundreds and thousands of hours over these truths. That is why no theologian with twelve college degrees can come up with an intelligent argument against these truths, even though they themselves believe the complete opposite. One giant benefit of knowing that all is of God according to His plan and intention, is that you will no longer cry over spilt milk. Yesterday's problems and heartaches will not haunt you. You will not worry anymore over why you didn't do differently. NOW you can learn and do differently--FORGETTING THE PAST.
God be with you,
Ray
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Topic: Evil Spirits (Read 16021 times)